Georgia Fire Inspectors Association

The standpipe requirement comes from the 2006 IFC, Section 905, which allows sprinklered buildings to use a Class I standpipe which may be a manual wet standpipe unless it is a high-rise which requires it to be automatic per NFPA 14 (2003), Section 5.4.1.2. A manual wet standpipe still requires compliance with NFPA 14 (2003), Section 7.7.1 (new section in the 2003 edition) which must be calculated thru the FDC to the pumper thus avoiding a fire pump (at least for standpipe demand). Non-sprinklered buildings require a Class III which NFPA 14 requires to be automatic, not manual per NFPA 14 (2003), Section 5.4.3, and which could still require a fire pump but again this is in a building that is not incurring the cost of a sprinkler system so cost are offset a bit. 100 psi has been found to be what is needed to fight a fire using 1½“ hose streams, which can be provided by the pumper truck in non-high-rise buildings avoiding a fire pump, and we really don’t need to be reducing the fire fighter’s resources by allowing a 65 psi except for hardship cases.